GADAG: With an Air Quality Index (AQI) value of 22 on Tuesday, Gadag in Karnataka stood at the second position among major cities in the country with good air quality, according to the daily bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Madikeri came first in the country with an AQI value 19.
Apart from Gadag, four districts of North Karnataka were also in the ‘Good’ AQI category — Hubballi (35), Bagalkot (23), Yadgir (30) and Bidar (41). Gadag was in first place across the nation on June 5 and July 6 this year. Since then, it has been in the ‘Good’ and ‘Average’ category.
Other districts of Karnataka which are in the ‘Good’ air quality category are Chamrajnagar (44), Chikkamagaluru (33), Davangere (23), Hassan (25), Koppal (46), Kolar (50), Mysuru (29), Ramanagara (40), Shivamogga (37) and Vijayapura (45).
India follows the 500-point scale of measuring the AQI value depending on the concentration of the major pollutants. The value 0-50 is considered as Good, followed by Satisfactory (51-100), Moderate (101-200), Poor (201-300), Very Poor (301-400) and Severe (401-500).
Gadag earning the ‘Good’ air quality tag can be attributed to the nearby hill range, Kappatagudda, and low number of industries around. Since a large percentage of villagers are into agriculture, it causes less air pollution.
Gadag and Dharwad district’s Environmental Officer Shobha Pol said, “We have been observing the AQI value and this time many districts in Karnataka are in the Good category. Hubballi is in the list which was not there earlier. Reasons cannot be predicted as it needs a detailed study and survey.”